Graham Local School District is a rural district in Champaign County, Ohio. The district serves the St. Paris area, and several other small communities including: Rosewood, Christiansburg, Terre Haute, Carysville, Millerstown, Westville and Thackery. The district is named after local legend A.B. Graham, the founder of the 4-H agriculture program. Currently, Graham LSD is one of the largest school districts in Ohio, in terms of area covered. The district covers over, which is nearly the size the Columbus, Ohio. Despite this, the number of students is relatively small, which is estimated to be about 2300 district-wide.
History
Before the Graham Local School District existed, there were six independent schools in the western Champaign county area: Concord, Christiansburg-Jackson, Rosewood, St. Paris, Terre Haute and Westville. Each school consisted of a one building school which housed all grades for their respected population. In 1957, these 6 buildings were consolidated to form one district, Graham. Concord School became Graham East Elementary. Christiansburg-Jackson School and Rosewood School became Graham South Elementary and Graham North Elementary, respectively. The St. Paris School became Graham Junior High School, and Graham High School was built on U.S. Route 36, near Kite Road. Its unclear what Westville and Terre Haute schools were used for initially after the merger. In 2000, a new building, Graham Middle School, was constructed just east of St. Paris on 36. The old Graham Junior High School building is currently used for the Board of Education, administrative offices, and the Graham Digital Academy. In 2007, yet another building, Graham Elementary, was built right next to the Middle School. Graham Elementary replaced the venerable elementary schools of Graham North, Graham East and Graham South. Both North and South buildings have been demolished after nearly 100 years of service. Currently, the Concord school building is used as a community center. In 2009, Graham High School underwent a $13 million renovation, including a new kitchen area, air conditioning, and a new gymnasium.
In 2000, several graduates representing Graham's six founding schools created The Graham Community Foundation, which is designed to raise funds for scholarships and grants for Graham students. To date, the Foundation has raised $75,000 for this purpose. The funds are administrated by the Troy Foundation in Troy Ohio. Only the interest earned is used for the awards. Since starting the Foundation, fourteen scholarships and grants have been awarded.
Mission statement
"The mission of the Graham Local Schools, in concert with family and community, is to provide students with the opportunity to reach their maximum potential in order to function successfully in a changing world."
